You and what army?
by TayaTheWolf
Summary: Arlandria was running and she found herself in Minas Tirith, a place she hated. How would she cope living there among highborn ladies when she was more comfortable in the guardhouse and taverns with the Minas Tirith guards.
1. Chapter 1

Her feet pounded the floor and her heart hammered in her chest as she fled from the creatures that had chased her for two days now. Her chest hurt from being out of breath for too long and she knew she wouldn't last much longer. The odd arrow kept flying past but none had hit her yet. It shouldn't be too far now; the white walls of Minas Tirith should be just over the hill. It was slowly coming into view; each of the layers shining in the sun. The sight of the city held her eyes for a second too long and she found herself on the floor with Orcs about to be on top of her. She stood up and drew her sword just in time to deflect the first orc's blow. Holding the bastard sword in both hands to gain more power she deflected blows left, right and centre but it wouldn't be long before they overpowered her. She was concentrating on not dying so much that she didn't hear the hoof beats behind her of the guard of Minas Tirith. The guards quickly killed the first wave of orcs which sent the few remaining running for their lives. The woman collapsed on the ground in exhaustion and her sword fell from her hand. She felt someone pick her up and start carrying her towards the city and then blackness hit her.

She awoke to grey eyes watching her. Her eyes widened in shock and then noticed that she was in a white linen bed with very little on. She looked around her and realised that she must be in the top layer of the city because the décor was grand and nothing like she was used to. Turning to her right she realised that the man looking at her was the steward's eldest son.

"My lord," she rasped and winced slightly at how dry her throat was.

"Rest," his silken voice was hardly above a whisper. "The healers say that you are unharmed but exhausted and need rest. You're lucky I had a patrol on the way back but you seem to have held your own against them."

She smiled slightly and tried to sit up before her spinning head made her lie down again. Boromir stood and picked up the water left by the healers. Sitting on the edge of the bed he helped the woman to sit up slightly and drink. After taking a few sips she lay back down and closed her eyes. After a few seconds she opened them again and realised how tired she was.

"How long have I been here?"

"About 6 hours. You should sleep. I will get someone to fetch you for dinner this evening. You're clothes are being washed and your weapons are in the corner, all of them."

She smiled and laughed slightly knowing how many weapons she had on her. She still wondered who had undressed her but she guessed it must have been the healers. She hoped she hadn't embarrassed herself in front of this man knowing his high-born type and his charm was disarming.

"Thank you" her sleep clouded voice whispered.

He nodded once before walking towards the door. It was when he opened the door that he realised he didn't even know her name. He turned towards her hoping that she hadn't fallen asleep.

"I'm sorry to have been rude, my lady. What is your name?"

"Arlandria", she yawned.

"Arlandria," he whispered to himself as he closed the door behind him. There was something about her that intrigued him. Something inside said that it wasn't just coincidence that her guard had found her; wasn't just coincidence that she was here. She was important and he wasn't sure why. It also helped that she was particularly good looking and appeared to be nothing like the ladies that Boromir was used to.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a gentle insistence in the poking of her arm and it wouldn't stop. Arlandria turned over trying to escape from it but the poking got worse. When she eventually opened her eyes she saw a young woman looking very nervous.

"I've been sent to wake you and get you ready for dinner, m'lady."

Arlandria just nodded, her mind still wrapped up in sleep. She blinked a couple of times before sitting up and accepting the fact that she wouldn't be allowed to sleep any longer. The young servant helped her out of bed and into the steaming bath that must have been filled before being awoken. Arlandria slipped into the water breathing a sigh of relief; it had been a while since she last had a bath like this. She was much more used to a swim in a river or a quick sponge down. She found out that the servant's name was Qannik and that it meant Snowflake. Qannik bathed her and washed her long hair before helping her out. Arlandria wasn't the most comfortable with being referred to as a lady and the idea of someone like Qannik doing all this for her was not at all in her comfort zone; but she had no way to protest without getting the young woman into trouble. Arlandria's long reddish-brown hair was tidied into one plait, hanging half-way down her back and after that had been done Qannik went and fetched an outfit that had been left by one of the other female servants.

"No," Arlandria stated. "No, I'm not wearing that."

The article in question was a green dress that hung to just above the knee. It had a low neckline that enhanced the chest and gathered in at the waist. It was a dress that showed a woman's best assets.

"Please, m'lady. It has been left for you. They expect you to wear it to the dinner tonight. The steward and his sons will be there."

"I'm sorry Qannik but I can't. I don't wear things like that. Can you get me something different? Something like what I was wearing when I arrived here."

After a couple of seconds Qannik seemed to make her mind up. "Wait here m'lady; I will see if I can get something."

Arlandria sat down and waited for the young woman's return. She got to thinking of what she was going to do. She knew she wasn't up to fighting fit which meant she had to spend some time here which was fine, except for her problem with Gondor in general and the uselessness of its ruler. She more than disliked the Steward, she hated him. It was desperation that made her head for Minas Tirith this time, if she hadn't she would surely have died. She didn't want to leave herself in the healers' hands but for the moment she must.

"Are these more to your liking m'lady?"

"Yes," Arlandria smiled at the smart leather shirt, leggings and knee-high boots. "Much better."

She looked at herself in the mirror that Qannik held up. It was more revealing than she liked but it was better than the dress. The shirt was short sleeved and tied up at the front which showed a bit of her chest. The leggings were quite well fitted but in a way she liked that, she was proud of her toned and slightly muscly legs. When she was ready Qannik led her to the dining hall. The servant stopped at the doors, leaving her to the guards, and turned and walked away when the doors started opening. Arlandria took a deep breath to calm herself and closed her eyes briefly to allow herself to soak up some confidence. When the doors were open she walked in and everyone could tell that she didn't belong. The men's eyes followed her, showing how rare it was for a woman to wear men's clothing. Most of them would think she was a whore or completely obstinate. Arlandria couldn't help this; it was how she was raised. She saw a table made up of the highest ranking city guards and then the main table which held the Steward, his sons and other highborn families. She saw Boromir and the empty chair next to him. Avoiding his gaze and the chair presumably reserved for her she sat down at the table of city guards. A servant approached her with some wine but she shook her head and pointed to a tankard. The servant looked shocked but obediently fetched a tankard of ale. The guards looked at each other not sure what to make of this thing that had plonked herself down with them. It took a few awkward moments when no-one knew what to say but after a while they started to get used to her and free-flowing ale certainly went in her direction. She was fit and good-looking; desirable to most and by the end of the meal she had been welcomed as a sister in the brotherhood. Some of them didn't approve of a woman fighting but most were impressed and eager to see if she could keep up the drinking pace. Plus, she was somewhat of an unknown entity; a woman completely different to the typical Gondorian lady.

Boromir kept glimpsing Arlandria's relations with his guards and couldn't believe what he was seeing; he had invited her here, provided clothes and procure her a chair on the high table but she had rebuffed him. It was rude and wrong; no lady should be able to do what she had done. On top of it all she had sat with the guards. She hadn't sat with some high-born women, no, she had sat with guards. The other thing that bothered him was how easily his guards had appeared to accept her; they were joking with her, touching her, sharing stories with her and having drinking competitions with her. He was disgusted but he also couldn't deny how much he felt for this stranger who he had only spoken to for thirty seconds. He watched her all evening, barely taking his eyes off her.

Arlandria couldn't believe the ease with which most of the guard had accepted her. Within minutes she felt like she was one of them and had been all her life. They spoke disparagingly about the Steward, albeit in lowered voices, but they had no bad words to say about either of the Steward's sons. They spoke of their missions and how the grip of Mordor was spreading. It was more common to see Orcs or Wargs on their travels. She could feel Boromir's eyes on her back throughout the evening. Eventually, there was no more food to be brought out and everybody stood after the high table had departed. The tables and chairs were moved to create an area that people could dance if they wanted to. It was at this point that the guards started to leave. Arlandria went to follow but a gentle hand on her arm stopped her.

"One dance at least before you leave, you owe that at least."

Arlandria turned to the voice and saw the younger brother, Faramir. He spun her round with ease and led her into the space. He kept a respectable distance while dancing but his good-manners didn't stop him from asking questions.

"Where do you call home?" He asked while moving her round with ease.

"Nowhere," Arlandria replied while trying not to step on his feet. "I don't stay in one place for long; I'm always on the move."

"How did a lovely lady like yourself come to be fighting orcs outside the walls of our city?" He twirled her and pulled her close waiting for her answer.

Arlandria froze. She stood there only an inch from his face studying his eyes. They appeared unconcerned at their closeness and held a sparkle of fun. Arlandria could feel her heart beating in her chest as well as eyes on her back. She tried to step back but the hands holding her tightened and she found a foot keeping hers where they were.

"I ask because you look like you want someone to talk to; someone to share your burden with. It's obvious that you want to be anywhere but here and I thought that I could help."

Arlandria just shook her head and pulled herself free. She looked at him toying between shouting at him and bursting into tears. She settled for walking calmly out the room and out into the streets below. She walked for an hour before finding herself at the door to a tavern. She entered and sat in one corner paying no heed to the four or five patrons who glanced up from their tankards. She was surprised when two tankards hit the table in front of her and Boromir sat opposite. His eyes connected with hers and she could sense drunken anger pouring out of him. After a few seconds she lowered her gaze and picked up her tankard, taking a long drink of the golden ale.

"Why did you sit with my guard?" His voice was lowered so that other people didn't overhear. "I invited you, I provided you with clothing worthy of a lady of Gondor and you chose to ignore that. You should have sat with me and used that as an opportunity to be accepted here. I doubt many people will want you to stay in the city."

The tavern keeper could see that this was a private conversation and quietly ushered the other drinkers out of the building before shutting the door, leaving the key on a table and retiring upstairs. Arlandria didn't fail to notice the empty room and closed her eyes wishing she had not come to Minas Tirith. She took a deep breath and resolved to be polite to the Steward's son to make sure she couldn't be locked up anywhere.

"I am not used to wearing such clothes and it's been a long time since I was among a large group of people. I was nervous and I didn't know what to do. I am used to spending my time with men similar to those in your guard." She gritted her teeth and carried on "if it please you _m'lord_, I would like to return to the Houses of Healing and leave your city in the morning."

She stood up and started walking away but Boromir pulled her so that she was sitting in his lap. He placed one hand behind her head, entwining his fingers in her hair and kissed her roughly. His tongue darted out and flicked at her lower lip. His other hand was wrapped around her waist keeping her in place. After a few seconds Arlandria pulled herself free and stood up, her hair coming out of its plait and falling across her face. She was panting and shook her head slightly. Boromir was shocked that a woman would not capitulate to him and his mind supplied images of fire and dark words.

"No Lady of Gondor refuses me".

"I am no Lady of Gondor!" Arlandria shouted not caring about the consequences anymore. She strode to the door, throwing it open and made her way back to the houses of healing. She didn't see Boromir drop his head into his hands nor the look of regret on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Boromir's head dropped into his hands not believing what he had just done. _I'm turning into Father_ he thought, _Valar help me._ He knew he could do nothing at the moment that would help and so he just walked back to the citadel. He entered his room and sank onto the bed rubbing his face.

"What did you do?" A voice from the corner asked.

"I was a fool brother. Father has been taxing me greatly at the moment worrying about Mordor and it's influence. He sees spies and traitors everywhere and his paranoia angers me. I am finding it very hard to cope with him at the moment and I am worried that Mordor is starting to affect me. I had drunk too much ale before the dinner and I placed too much hope that Arlandria would distract me for the evening." He sighed and looked up at Faramir. "I was Father for the evening".

Faramir just shook his head. He knew how much Boromir didn't want to turn into their Father and it was very unlike his brother to act how he had; he had always shown the utmost respect for women.

"But what did you do?"

"I kissed her without her consent, it was forced." Boromir closed his eyes and tried to forget the hurt look in Arlandria's eyes that had rapidly turned to steel before she fled.

"No wonder she looked like she did when she got to the Houses of Healing. She wouldn't talk to anyone and shut herself in her room."

Boromir stood up and started undressing. "I need to apologise," he said while unbuttoning his shirt.

Faramir stood up and walked to the door. When he got there he turned round and said "let me talk to her first. I think it would be for the best".

Boromir nodded slowly, "Thank you brother. Good night".

Arlandria woke up and immediately closed her eyes again. She was shocked at Boromir's behaviour; she had always been told that he was nothing like his Father. Last night she had seen the Steward in him and although it was unexpected she was more shocked at her own behaviour. It was a long time since she last raised her voice to someone. She sent a thought to her own father begging his forgiveness for her behaviour and was glad that he couldn't see it. She sat up and felt the need to escape the city. As much as she hated the thought of staying in Minas Tirith, she wasn't ready to move on to another place; it was actually quite nice to be amongst civilisation. She noticed her clothes had been returned to her and pulled on her leather leggings and tunic before piling her hair up on her head. After a quick trip to the toilet she grabbed her sword and made her way to the stables, keeping an eye out for any guards or Gondorian heirs. She approached the stable boy with a small smile on her face.

"I'd like to go for a ride please can I borrow a horse, a stallion if you can spare it?"

"Umm, I'm not sure I'm allowed to m'lady."

"I don't want anyone to know that I'm gone. If I don't tell anyone that you gave me the horse will you return the favour by not telling anyone that I'm gone? I'll be back before anyone notices that I'm not here".

The lad just gave a small nod of assent before scurrying away. A few moments later he came back leading a large bay stallion which was freshly saddled. The stable boy helped Arlandria to mount before adjusting the stirrups for her. From the back of an 18hh horse the roof was very close to Arlandria's head. "Thank you." Arlandria had to duck to avoid hitting her head on the door frame of the stables. She was just about to turn to join the main street when the stable boy's voice stopped her.

"If you turn down the second street on the left it leads straight through the lower levels to a side gate where less people are likely to see you."

Arlandria just nodded and trotted in the direction described to her. She made her way along the cobbled streets and found herself at the gate which was just guarded by Aratan, named after the second son of Isildur.

"Aratan," Arlandria greeted him. "How are you this morning?"

"Surprisingly well for the amount of ale consumed last night," he laughed.

"Consumed? Quaffed more like, hardly any ale passed your lips" she replied in jest. "Can you open the gate for me?"

"Of course," Aratan replied moving to unlock the gate while slipping looks at the stallion. "There you go my lady," he said when the gate was opened and bowed when she walked past him.

Arlandria raised an eyebrow at him wondering what he was doing. "Before I forget, don't tell anyone you saw me."

"Of course"

Arlandria smiled still wondering about his sudden change in attitude but didn't want to stay any longer. She kicked the horse into a canter and led it into the fields before giving it it's head and leaving it to take her where he wanted. She could feel the power in its muscles as it made its way away from Minas Tirith and the wind whistling past her made her feel free. She could forget all the trouble that had happened and about the threat from Mordor. After what seemed like hours she found herself at a river. She pulled the horse to a halt and let him have a drink. She heard hoof beats behind her and wrapped her right hand around the hilt of her sword sliding it out of the scabbard slightly. She turned the stallion round to look at who was approaching and was surprised to see Faramir. When he drew near he dismounted and left his horse to drink from the river. He sat down and patted the grass next to him. Arlandria slid her sword back in its scabbard, dismounted and joined him.

"You shouldn't have come so far from the city, orc patrols have been regularly sighted this far east."

"I know Faramir," Arlandria replied pulling her knees up and resting her chin on them. "I just got carried away. I didn't mean to go far. I just wanted to escape for a while."

Faramir smiled understanding completely how she felt. Sometimes he wished he was just a guard and not the younger son of a Lord Steward that had no love or respect for him.

"How did you know I was gone and how did you find me?"

Faramir laughed before answering her question, "next time, don't take Boromir's horse."

"O," Arlandria's eyes and mouth went wide. She looked at the stallion behind her and she wondered why she didn't notice in the stable how expensive the saddle and bridle looked. The saddle flap also had the tree of Gondor woven into it and next to it was an elaborate B; _how could I not have seen it? _

"O!" she said again her voice laced with sudden understanding. Faramir looked at her quizzically. "Sorry, I now realise why Aratan called me Lady and bowed to me." She sighed and stretched her legs back out again. She laughed slightly and hid her head on Faramir's arm.

"We need to talk, Arlandria. We need to talk about what happened last night". Arlandria sat up and nodded biting her lip.

"What you saw isn't the normal Boromir. He has been under a lot of pressure from Father and that's no excuse for how he treated you but you have to understand that his mind is everywhere at present. He is not pleased with himself and he is plagued by regret for what he did. He wants to apologise to you but I know he won't be able to tell you all that I can. You probably realise he's a man of actions not words."

Arlandria gave a small smile and nodded. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry too. Boromir has done more than he had to for me and I didn't know what to do. I'm not used to large groups of people staring at me and I just went to the group of people I would normally associate with. I also doubt that the Lord Steward would approve of me, I'm not exactly a typical Gondorian lady am I?"

Faramir chuckled, "no, not at all typical. You should come to dinner tonight. It's a smaller affair just my brother and I along with some high ranking guards. It's normally a male only dinner but I'm sure everyone will make an exception for you".

"No, it's alright. I don't want to take your evening from you."

"You won't be, I assure you. Come on, I won't take no for an answer. My Lady". He stood holding his hand out to her.

"Fine, you win!" She grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. Faramir helped her mount Boromir's horse and then leaped onto his own, slightly smaller, horse.

They rode back through the fields chatting about inconsequential things. When they got within sight of the white walls Faramir leaned across and grabbed the bridle of Boromir's horse. Arlandria looked at him confused.

"I think it would be better if we swapped horses to ride through the city," Faramir said in a lowered tone.

"Of course," Arlandria replied gracefully dismounting.

Faramir was surprised at how quick she agreed with him but quickly dismounted. After they had both mounted their 'new' steeds they made their way to the main gate of the city. The guards quickly waved them through the first gate and it took them hardly any time to reach the stables on level six. After giving their horses to the stable boys Faramir led Arlandria back to the small house next to the houses of healing that usually served visiting healers.

"I'll come and walk you to dinner," Faramir said before turning away and walking to the citadel.

Arlandria ran into the house looking for Qannik. Eventually she found her preparing a bath.

"M'lady, I thought after your ride you would like to have a bath."

"Does everyone know that I've been riding today?" Arlandria muttered under her breath. "Thank you Qannik. You know that green dress? Is it still here?"

"Yes m'lady. Shall I fetch it for you?"

"Please, Qannik. Can you leave it in the other room and when I'm dressed can you do something with my hair? I can never seem to tame it."

"Of course m'lady". With this Qannik walked out and started to get everything ready that Arlandria would need.

Arlandria undressed and slipped into the warm water letting it caress her and ease the aches of the day. Her muscles relaxed and she lay there thinking about what Faramir had said. She knew there was something about Boromir that drew her to him and although she didn't like to admit it but a part of her, a rather large part of her, had enjoyed his kiss. Although he had been rough he hadn't hurt her and when he had pulled her into his lap a fire had started to burn in her stomach and she was sure that fire was in his eyes. She shook her head and cleansed all the dirt from her body. After she was finished she got out, dried herself and walked into the other room where the dress was waiting and Qannik had found some boots that were more elegant than her usual ones. She pulled the dress on, noticing how it enhanced her chest, and then put the boots on. At this point Qannik came in and indicated that Arlandria should sit on the chair.

"Thanks Qannik, I really appreciate it."

"You are welcome m'lady".

Qannik brushed Arlandria's hair thoroughly before tying the top half in an elegant knot at the back of her head and clipped the lower half so that it fell nicely down her back. This left a few stray strands hanging down the sides of her face. Qannik twirled them slightly so that they were nicely curled.

"You look lovely m'lady, I'm sure the Steward's sons won't fail to notice your beauty." Qannik said will a smug smile. Arlandria eyes met the young woman's and she could tell that Qannik knew more than she was letting on. Arlandria smiled and stood up when she heard a knock at the door.

"Lord Faramir, I'm ready".

"Yes, I can see that," Faramir managed at last. He was surprised that she had worn the dress and also how well it suited her. He could understand why most of the guard and his rangers had fallen for her. He held out an arm for her and after she had taken it he escorted her to the citadel.

They reached the doors and the two guards opened the doors while maintaining an eye on the comely woman. The two entered the room and all conversation stopped as the men inside saw Arlandria. She quavered a bit but Faramir pushed gently on her back to keep her walking. He pulled a chair out next to his brother for Arlandria to sit on and then sat opposite amongst the high ranking guardsmen. Arlandria smiled at Boromir trying to let him know that she had forgiven him and he must have understood for his leant towards her and said in a hushed tone "you look beautiful tonight".

"Thank you".

The night passed easily with good food, good ale and good conversation. Arlandria learnt a lot about the guards present and their families. They also told her a lot of stories about Boromir and Faramir all of which lead to some embarrassment for them. Arlandria found it a lot easier to cope with only a few people and even told a few stories from her childhood including one about when she knocked her father unconscious thinking he was an intruder. She also noticed that Boromir hardly took his eyes off her and it was causing the fire in her stomach to start burning. Eventually, conversation ran dry and people started to leave; this left Boromir, Faramir and Arlandria. Faramir saw a good opportunity to help the two in front of him and made his excuses leaving Boromir and Arlandria alone.

"Thank you for coming tonight," Boromir started after a few seconds of silence. "I am truly sorry about last night"

"I wouldn't dwell on last night. Faramir had a long conversation with me today and explained a few things. I'm sorry too for how I reacted. Why don't we just move on?"

Boromir smiled and stood up offering his hand to her. Arlandria smiled back and took his hand letting him lead her back towards the Houses of Healing. They walked in a comfortable silence but both were aware of their closeness. They got to the door and Boromir found himself lost for words. He wanted to kiss her goodnight but the sensible part of his brain was telling him that it wasn't a good idea at the moment. The not so sensible side of his brain then came up with an idea.

"Would you like to train with me tomorrow?"

"Me? Train with you?"

"Yes. It's not every day you find a nice lady like you with a bastard sword." Arlandria smiled at this. "Please join me."

"It would be good to start practising again."

"I'll see you in the field to the west of the city tomorrow morning. Good night Arlandria."

"Good night, m'lord." Arlandria turned to go but Boromir's hand on her arm stopped her.

"I forgot to say; Mother's dress looks stunning on you".


End file.
